The Magic Corset
by Anaroriel
Summary: Lalasa has a new sewing project from the queen, and Owen can't seem to get his mind off it.


**A/N: This is the closest I've come to crack-fic. It was based off Opalgirl's pet peeve for having Kel in a corset that turned her into a tiny and delicate girl (which she is totally not), which then turned into a (not serious) discussion about the existence of magic corsets. All of this can be found at Goldenlake, see my profile for a link!**

**A/N II: This is not my usual stuff, so, uh, don't judge me for how bizarre it is. Just sayin'. Thanks!**

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**The Magic Corset**

Lalasa was sewing on the window ledge and Kel was doing her usual morning exercises with the glaive when Owen burst into Kel's rooms. He ignored Kel's admonish for not knocking first and rushed forward to give her a hug, ducking under the glaive that had stopped midair in her surprise.

"Good morning! Kel!" Owen cried with exuberance. Once again he was shocked by the feeling of her peaches against him. Kel really was turning into a girl! He took a step back and grinned at her.

"Good morning, Owen," Kel responded, resigned but amused nonetheless.

"Kel!" Neal called and knocked on the partially opened door. "Do you know if we were supposed to finish those math problems assigned today?" He ran his hand through his brown hair, looking stressed. "I can't remember."

Kel sighed, glancing longingly at her glaive before setting it aside. "Yes, we were supposed to finish them. I thought you did them last night?"

The conversation was becoming boring since he had done the assignment last night with Seaver, so his eyes began to wander around the room.

"What's that?" Owen asked. Owen reached out and pulled out something lacy and thick from Lalasa's basket.

"No, no! You mustn't touch that!" Lalasa cried and tried to snatch the delicate item out of Owen's arms.

Neal walloped Owen over the head. "You should know better than to grab at things that aren't yours, you barbarian." Neal took the piece of clothing out of Owen's hands and his face turned a shade of pink when he realized what he was holding. The red-faced teenage page handed it back to Lalasa quickly. "Especially something like that," Neal muttered.

"What? Why? What is it?" Owen asked. Neal put a sturdy hand on Owen's shoulder to keep him from stepping forward to get a better look at the piece.

"Don't you pay any mind," Lalasa snapped. Owen took a step back, despite Neal's heavy hand. Lalasa was rarely angry, but when she was, it was rather frightening. She knew of all kinds of different ways to hurt people.

"This is also very expensive, very delicate, and you won't be able to find another like it," Lalasa said sternly. "It belongs to the queen and I'm repairing it. So don't you go touching it again."

The bell rang, announcing the start of the day. Neal swore and hurried from the room, apparently to go finish his math assignment. Owen also hurried out of the room, not wanting another lecture from Lalasa.

Despite Lalasa's warnings, Owen could not stop thinking about the lacy thing he had found in the basket. He didn't have any older sisters, so he wasn't familiar with women's things.

The next evening, they were studying in Roald's room. Owen was absentmindedly drawing on his parchment, and he didn't even notice when his quill ran dry. How am I supposed to get another look at the lacy thing, he wondered to himself, ignoring Roald's explanation of King Jasson's conquests.

"I left my book in my room," Kel said after Roald finished what Owen thought to be a longwinded lecture. She stood up and stretched and walked to the door. "I'll be right back."

Suddenly Owen was struck by an idea. "No! I need to get something from my room too!" Owen practically knocked Seaver off the bed in his haste to stand up. "I'll just stop by yours and pick it up! Where is it?"

Kel handed him her key without thinking, and Owen raced out of the prince's room. "Finally, finally," he said to himself. "I can take a closer look!"

He prayed to Mithros that Lalasa would not be at home – he had not been able to face her since that day she yelled at him – and he gently turned the lock for Kel's door. Owen breathed a sigh of relief when the door swung open to an empty room. Her basket was still on the window ledge where Lalasa left it, and Owen hurried over to it. Inside he pulled the lacy thing out and examined it. Why, it was some sort of shirt; lacy, transparent, and odd shaped. "What is it?" Owen muttered to himself.

Well, he reasoned, there was only one way to find out. Glancing nervously around the room to see if it was truly empty, Owen swiftly pulled the lacy shirt over his head. There was a painful squeezing sensation in his stomach, which he mistakenly assumed was nerves, and then there was a flash of light.

Owen looked down. And yelled.

He had turned into a girl! His normal, stocky, boy body had changed, and now his entire upper body was in an hourglass shape, perfect peaches and all!

"Get it off, get it off!" he yelled and tugged at the lace. But it must not have been repaired by Lalasa yet, because the frayed bits of the bottom had gotten caught around his belt buckle, and try as he might he couldn't undo the tangling.

Owen tugged at it for what felt like hours to him, but was probably five minutes length in time at most. He imagined the worst, he'd never be able to take it off and his friends and family would never let him hear the end of it. Owen reasoned that at least he wouldn't have to feel Kel's peaches anymore since he had a pair of his own. "Or worse!" he cried, his voice hoarse from crying. "This is the Goddess' punishment!"

Finally, exhausted and resigned to his fate of looking like a girl for the rest of his life, Owen fell asleep on Kel's bed, tears drying on his cheeks.

Owen awoke when he heard snipping. Owen opened his eyes and stared as Lalasa cut the lace ends free of his belt.

"You're a good lad," Lalasa said kindly, even though she was frowning. "You just need to learn manners. I should really keep you in this for a while to teach you a listen."

"Thank you, Lalasa," Owen said meekly when Lalasa finally cut him free and pulled off the corset. Lalasa nodded, trying to hide a smile as she replaced the corset back into her basket. Owen sighed as his body morphed back into his normal shape. "That was jolly fun, though, wasn't it?"


End file.
